catherinie

Opponents! They’d not long been parted

By this cruel thirst to kill each other.

Not long before, tender-hearted,

Each had acted like a brother,

Sharing pleasures, meals, and thought.

Now hostility had brought

On nightmare, like those ancient feuds

Where in cold blood opposing broods,

In silence, plan each other’s slaughter.

Could they not speak and smile again,

Before blood left its scarlet stain,

Part in kindness, giving quarter? ...

But the world’s scornful expectation

Breeds fear of reconciliation.

Иллюстрации Геннадия Новожилова, 1980.